"Van Persie is our captain so he is very important to us. In principle my captain always plays, but he has to be fit.''

There was better news for midfielder Nigel de Jong, meanwhile, who went through his paces along with the rest of the team in training in a bid to regain his place in Van Gaal's starting XI.

It was not clear on Tuesday, however, whether De Jong is fit to play against Argentina.

De Jong injured his groin early in the second-round victory over Mexico, and there were fears his tournament was over after the Dutch team said he likely would need two to four weeks to recover.

Van Persie starred for the Oranje as he scored two goals in their 5-1 demolition of Spain in their opening Group B game, then added another strike and an assist in the 3-2 win over Australia.

But after being suspended for the final group game against Chile, the Manchester United forward failed to find the net against either Mexico or Costa Rica, missing gilt-edged chances against Los Ticos as Van Gaal's side edged through on penalties.